WASHINGTON, D.C.—President Donald J Trump announced Thursday, October 9, that Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas have reached an historic agreement on the first phase of a peace deal to end the war in Gaza. The United States along with Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey helped broker the deal. The deal will be signed in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, with a signing ceremony set for Sunday, October 12—President Trump will be in attendance.
The ceasefire is to start 24 hours after Israel’s cabinet approves it on the evening of October 9, 2025. Hostage releases are to start within 72 hours after the ceasefire, with Trump stating that living hostages could return as early as October 13 or 14, 2025.
This agreement came after more than two years since the October 7th Attack, when militants led by Hamas invaded southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. Israel declared war then responded with a military operation that destroyed almost all of Gaza’s infrastructure—over 67,000 Palestinians have died according to Gaza’s health ministry.
A brief ceasefire in January 2025 allowed some hostage releases and aid deliveries, but fighting continued due to failed negotiations. Tensions increased last month in September, when Trump presented his 20-point peace roadmap during a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House. An Israeli strike on Hamas leadership in Doha that month led to international criticism.
The agreement included these key conditions for a ceasefire:
- Israel to withdraw some of its forces but keep control over about 53% of Gaza’s territory, including the Philadelphi Corridor along the border with Egypt.
- Hamas to release all remaining hostages, which include about 20 living and the return of 28 bodies of deceased individuals.
- Israel to release 250 Palestinian prisoners who were serving life sentences and 1,700 others detained since October 7, 2023.
- The increase of Humanitarian aid to Gaza, with at least 400 trucks (up to 600) entering the territory each day.
Trump’s Gaza Peace plan further includes the removal of military infrastructure, and temporary governance.
A committee of Palestinian technocrats are to handle the day-to-day administration of Gaza, under the authority of a “Board of Peace” chaired by President Trump. The Board of Peace is to include international figures such as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.The board’s role is to monitor compliance, advise on reconstruction, and ensure security measures. It aims to support a transition to a reformed Palestinian Authority.
Hamas is to receive amnesty or safe passage if it follows through with the peace terms but is to surrender all current and future governance of Gaza.
An economic plan is to be developed and implemented on rebuilding Gaza as an area for investment, without forcing Palestinians to be relocated to other parts of the Middle East.
Leaders responded with a mix of support and caution. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the agreement “a diplomatic success and a national and moral victory for the State of Israel” and posted on social media, “God willing, we will continue together in order to achieve all our aims and expand the peace with our neighbours.”
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi described it as “historic” and a “triumph of the will for peace over the logic of war.”
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed it and hoped it led to “a lasting political solution that ends the Israeli occupation and establishes an independent Palestinian state.”
President Barack Obama expressed encouragement and relief over the possible end to the two-year Gaza conflict.
“After two years of unimaginable loss and suffering for Israeli families and the people of Gaza, we should all be encouraged and relieved that an end to the conflict is within sight; that those hostages still being held will be reunited with their families; and that vital aid can start reaching those inside Gaza whose lives have been shattered,” President Obama said. “More than that, though, it now falls on Israelis and Palestinians, with the support of the U.S. and the entire world community, to begin the hard task of rebuilding Gaza – and to commit to a process that, by recognizing the common humanity and basic rights of both peoples, can achieve a lasting peace.”
Author: Mario Lotmore
